Stepbrother // A Calum Hood Fanfic

Chapter 1 // Castles

"Would you please stop lecturing me, Mom?" I groaned, banging my head against the back of my seat. Mom stared at the road, her hands gripping the steering wheel tighter.

"What did I tell you about talking back?" Her voice was frighteningly calm. I gulped, turning my head so I could stare out the window. She began lecturing me again, except this time about how to act around David. I sighed, tuning her out. I stared at the mansions going by, noticing that they all looked like castles with their manicured lawns and beautiful wrought iron gates. I thought about our old house that was two stories with three bedrooms inside. It may not have been a castle, but it had more love built inside it than I'm sure any of these houses did. Soon enough, after a long line of mansions, we suddenly pulled into one of the most grandeur houses on the street. It was absolutely beautiful. As we rolled up the white pebble driveway, I stared at the two-story house. It was all red brick, with the exception of the huge white pillars in front. The front lawn was the size of a football field with beautiful flowers strewn throughout the edges and it looked as though the backyard was just as big. I stepped out of the car, snapping out of my trance. My mom, not bothering to help me with any of the bags, ran straight to the door. She most likely was gonna make her new boy toy get all of them.

"Hello?" I heard a male voice say. I looked up, surprised to see a boy that seemed around my age. He was definitely a cutie, but that was a bit of an understatement. He was tall (or maybe I was just short), muscular, and had a jawline that could cut steel. I gulped, 'who is he? I don't recall Mom telling me I have a stepbrother...but what does she tell me now-a-days anyhow?' He must have felt me watching him because his brown eyes looked my way. I quickly faced the car again, tried busying myself with all the bags.

"Oh, you must be David's son, Calum!" She smiled her obviously fake smile. She has only gotten better at it with time. She leaned in slightly, scanning the furniture in the living room. I rolled my eyes, sitting the bags down next to her. I looked at the boy head on. I tried acting tough, keeping my face like everything was everything was fine and dandy. He glanced at me, his eyes narrowing in on my face. Heat rose to my cheeks, but I didn't dare change my expression.

"DAD! Your Fiance is here with her daughter..." He muttered something under his breath before walking back into the house. Suddenly, David came in to view. He was a bit tall, like his son. He had a welcoming smile, and he looked like he actually liked my mom. I cursed under my breath for thinking that.

"Honey!" My mom walked into his arms, giving him a kiss afterwards. I averted my eyes, trying to remove that image from my head. After what seemed like a year, they finally stopped kissing.

"This must be uhh... Carter?" He said, smiling at me. I nodded, keeping my face expressionless. My mom frowned at me, pointing to the grin plastered on her face while David couldn't see her. I sighed, putting on my best smile. He laughed, patting my back hard and causing me to stumble forward. "Welcome to the Hood residence!" He said, bringing me inside. It was like a dollhouse. The furniture looked so small compared to the size of the house. I looked around, my eyes wide. David chuckled, looking around with me. "Pretty big, eh?" He said, motioning towards the living room. The furniture was mostly dark brown with splashes of greens and blues in the large paintings on the walls. I nodded, my mom sighing.

"Sooo...where's our room?" She said, impatiently. He laughed, walking up the huge white and gray marble staircase that looked like it belonged in an opera house.

"Follow me."

My mom followed close after, while I struggled to carry both our bags up the slick marble staircase. Suddenly, someone came up from behind me and took the bags, brushing softly against the backs of my hands in the process.